Storage Wars

DFW undergoes a building boom in self-storage

Folks in DFW have a lot to store.

From the looks of it, the storage wars will be heating up soon in Dallas-Fort Worth. A new report shows more new self-storage space is under way in DFW than in any other major U.S. metro area.

The report, published in September by the Argus Self Storage Sales Network, estimates 9 million square feet of self-storage space is being built in DFW. That square footage is comparable to 50 average Walmart Supercenters.

Put another way, 164 self-storage projects are being developed in DFW, according to the Argus report. Eighty-two of those facilities are in the construction phase, 49 are planned, and 33 are in the early stages of leasing.

“The wave of self-storage development makes Dallas one of the most oversupplied storage markets in the country,” according to SpareFoot, an Austin-based marketplace for self-storage rentals.

The September report looks at self-storage development under way in 35 large U.S. metro areas. Behind DFW for development activity are New York City, with 54 projects under way (a little over 2.9 million square feet), and Houston, with 52 projects under way (nearly 2.9 million square feet), the report shows.

A DFW market report published in June by Argus notes that with self-storage occupancy rates sitting at record highs, “one should not be totally surprised by the number of new facilities that are or might be in the pipeline moving forward.”

A September report from research firm STR shows the Dallas-Fort Worth area has about 1,000 self-storage facilities with nearly 49 million rentable square feet. That works out to 6.7 square feet of self-storage space per person, or more than 270 average Walmart Supercenters.

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Real Estate News

Dallas real estate developer pleads guilty to bribing 2 city officials

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Dallas developer Sherman Roberts

Dallas real estate developer Sherman Roberts pleaded guilty on November 12 to conspiracy to commit bribery, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Roberts, 70, who previously helmed City Wide Community Development Corporation, was indicted in December 2020. According to court documents, Sherman bribed two city council members — Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway and City Council member Carolyn Davis — to support loans and low-income housing tax credits for his apartment projects.

In return for several thousand dollars in cash – plus the promise of future payments after her city council tenure ended – Davis lobbied for Roberts' real estate projects, including Serenity Place, Runyon Springs, and Patriot’s Crossing.

She promoted Serenity Place to the City Housing Committee, demanded other developers also seeking real estate funding withdraw their applications in order to increase Roberts' chances of success, recommended Serenity Place receive a 9 percent low income housing tax credit, and voted to approve a $1.9 million loan from the city of Dallas.

“Right now you and me are making money,” Roberts texted Davis shortly after the vote.

Later, she repeatedly reached out to ask for more money — "just a few dollars" — and he agreed.

Davis and Roberts then met with Caraway to address a problem with the Patriot's Crossing project. In return for several hundred dollars cash and a $2,000 monthly stipend, Caraway agreed to stop the city from issuing a request for proposal (RFP) for the Patriots Crossing project and to deliver the project for Roberts.

“How much is the project worth?” Mayor Pro Tem Caraway asked. “Once you’re successful with this project, don’t forget about me.”

“I won’t forget about you,” Mr. Roberts responded. “That’s where the money is… the money has never been an issue.”

Roberts now faces up to five years in federal prison. He is slated to be sentenced on March 12, 2025.

Caraway pleaded guilty in 2019 to conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and tax evasion and was sentenced to more than four years in federal prison.

Davis pleaded guilty in 2019 to conspiracy to commit bribery concerning an agent of a local government receiving federal benefits, but passed away in a car crash before she could be sentenced.

Roberts was one of three real estate developers charged in connection with the bribery scandal. Devin Hall, the developer behind the Grand Park Place apartment project, pleaded guilty in August 2020. Ruel Hamilton, the AmeriSouth Realty Group executive who backed the Royal Crest housing project, is awaiting retrial on conspiracy and bribery charges.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation with the assistance of IRS – Criminal Investigation’s Dallas Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcus Busch is prosecuting the case with the help of Assistant U.S. Attorney Donna Max.